This is my top favorite bread. It originally appeared in my book The Bread Bible as a torpedo shaped loaf but since I wanted to use it for sandwiches, I've adapted it to be in sandwich loaf shape. In the process I also made several additions and changes to create the ultimate taste and texture of my imagination.

I added some firm sour dough starter that always resides in my freezer, which gives the bread extra flavor and shelf life. I added oil to give it a softer crumb, and in order to faciliate the even incorporation of so many grains, I added the salt, which makes the dough firmer, after the grains were mixed in. I replaced one-third of the bread flour with durum flour, for its delicious flavor, and used the new Platinum Yeast by Red Star. I was told by the company that the dough improvers in this yeast are dough strengthening enzymes derived from the protein in wheat flour and that I would need less vital wheat gluten to strengthen the dough to support the addition of the grains. Vital wheat gluten results in a chewier texture but the enzymes in the Platinum Yeast do not so I surmised that this would yield a more tender crumb.

And, when using the Platinum yeast, and only half the usual vital wheat gluten, I achieved the identical rise but with a slightly more tender crumb and a perfectly smooth exterior with no slight tearing where the dough rises above the top of the pan.

As not everyone has firm sour dough starter on hand, I tried substituting biga, which is essentially the same proportion of ingredients but is at its best when made three days ahead of mixing the dough for the bread. To my delight, there was no difference between the sour dough starter and the biga!

I encourage you to make your own 10 grain mix as the grains are larger and give a better texture to the bread. I usually replace the soy nuggets with equal volume of pumpkin seeds as I love their flavor. Feel free to create your own favorite mix.

Recipe Follows

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